
Qass 

Book 



,1193 






REV. D. DYER'S DISCOURSE 



COMMEMORATIVE OK 



PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 



'SjLwwMHlMjS^' 



DISCOURSE 



OCCASIONED BY THE ASSASSINATION OF 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 



DELIVERED IN THE 



ALBANY PENITENTIARY, 



A MILITARY PRISON OF THE U. S. 



WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 1865, 



BY DAVID DYER. 




ALBANY : 

EDWARD LESLIE, PRINTER, 
1865. 



E> 



Penitentiary, Superintendent's Office, } 
Albany, N. Y.. April 20, 1865. $ 

REV. D. DYER, Chaplain: 

Dear Sir: — Desiring to furnish every prisoner under my care with a 
printed copy of the discourse delivered by you in our Chapel yesterday, 
on the death of President Lincoln, I respectfully solicit a copy for 
publication. 

Truly yours,- 

AMOS PILSBURY, 

Superintendent. 



Albany. April 21, 1865. 
Dear Sir: 

The accompanying discourse, though hastily prepared, is cheerfully 
placed at your disposal for the purpose you desire. 

I am, respectfully yours, 

DAVID DYER, 

Chaplain. 
Gen. Amos Pilsbury. 



DISCOURSE. 



The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, ivas taken in their pits, of 
tuhom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen. Lam. 4 : 24. 

I will hear what God the Lord will speak ; for he will speak peace unto his people, 
and to his saints ; but let them not turn again to folly. Ps. 85 : 8. 

Jehovah has just spoken to this great nation by an afflict- 
ive dispensation. Its President is gone — gone the way of 
all flesh; and gone to his last account. Raised, not long 
since, for the second time to the highest office in the sift of 
the people; busily engaged in administering the affairs of 
State, and attending to the civil interests of the nation, he 
has been suddenly removed by death; and now, as his body 
is about to lie committed to the dust, his spirit is with God 
who gave it. 

His death has occurred under circumstances of a painfully 
instructive character. Not only have the long-cherished ties 
of domestic bliss been rent asunder — the wife bereft of her 
endeared husband, and the children of a venerated father — 
but it has occurred by an assassin's hand, at a critical period 
of our national affairs; when peculiar measures are necessary 
to secure a well-grounded peace, and restore the brotherhood 
of States; when a chief magistrate is required who shall be 
more concerned for the nation than for party; when firmness, 
enlightened wisdom, and honesty of purpose are specially 
needed; and when multitudes were looking to him, and 
rejoicing in the belief that he possessed those high qualifica- 
tions, and was equal to the emergency. At such a time, and 
in such circumstances has the Presidential chair been clothed 
in sackcloth; its honored occupant removed; the hopes of 



DISCOURSE. 



millions extinguished, and the nation plunged into deep 
mourning. 

Amid such scenes it is our solemn duty to recognize the 
hand of God; to stop and ask why the Lord hath dealt with 
us thus ? why he hath laid on us this severe chastising stroke, 
and what he would have us learn from this event ? 

The all-wise Governor of the Universe has certainly some 
important reason for appealing in this striking and painful 
manner to our senses; and it is right that in the sanctuary 
we should specially seek to find it out, for thus we imitate 
the example of the pious dead, pursue the path of wisdom 
and safety, and follow the directions of the Lord. Not to 
do so would evince a spirit of criminal indifference, which 
would be offensive to God and provoke the infliction of his 
wrath. Let us, then, with docility and pray erf illness, listen 
to his voice. 

1. God teaches us by tliis event that rulers and people are 
alike subject to Ids government. This must be so. Having 
the same origin, they are subject to the same power ; formed 
by the same hand, they are under the same authority; feel- 
ing the same wants, they are dependent on the same bounty; 
having the same laws to obey and the same duties to per- 
form, they must be subject to the same rule and amenable to 
the same bar. No worldly circumstances, however imposing; 
no adventitious honors, however splendid; no human autho- 
rity, however vast; nor any mortal endowments, however 
bright and powerful, can liberate the individual from this 
divine control. It is based on the prerogatives of God, and 
is indispensable to the welfare of mankind. 

He who observes the falling of a sparrow, orders the affairs 
of kingdoms and the world; He who listens to the sighing 
of the piisoner, controls the doings of rulers and kings; He 
who numbers the very hairs of our head, presides over all 
the destinies of nations. Not anything can transpire without 



DISCOURSE. 



bis permission; and, in ways unknown to ns, he overrules 
all the actions of mankind, and all the changes of time, for 
the fulfillment of his will. He is the " blessed and the only 
potentate; the King of kings, and the Lord of lords." He 
says: "By me, kings reign and princes decree justice; by 
me, princes rule, and nobles — even all the judges of the 
earth." " I am the Lord, and beside me there is none else." 
So prone are men — -specially those who bask in the smiles 
of fortune — to forget this subjection, and to indulge a spirit 
of independence towards God, that he often emphatically 
reminds them of its reality and the supremacy of his con- 
trol. He says: " Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom; 
neither let the mighty man glory in his might; let not the 
rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory 
in this; that he understandeth and knoweth me; that I am 
the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and 
righteousness in the earth." He often breaks in upon the 
full tide of human affairs; and, to arouse them from their 
self-sufficiency and criminal indifference to his authority, he 
blasts, as in a moment, their brightest hopes; extinguishes 
their fondest expectations; removes their dearest friends- 
even those whose existence seemed essential to their sup- 
port; or, as in the present instance, he takes away those who 
are looked up to by millions of their fellow-beings just when 
their presence seemed all but indispensable. 

2. God would teach us by this event that neither distinction 
in society, nor the wants of individuals or nations, can save 
from the arrest of death. Death, we have frequently seen, is 
an imperious monarch. His mandate is imperative, and must 
be obeyed. No circumstances, however fascinating; no 
wants, however urgent; no ties, however dear; no duties, 
however pressing and important; nor any power, however 
great, can prevent or hinder his grasp. The individual may 
be a pattern of kindness, temperance, and piety; he may be 



6 DISCOURSE. 



endowed with great intellectual powers and acquirements, 
and be performing labors that will bless a world; he may 
have conquered mighty nations, and made his name to be 
feared and respected throughout the habitable globe; he 
may be surrounded by distinguished pomp, and sway a scep- 
tre over millions of his fellow-men; his existence may seem 
almost essential to the welfare of the family, the church, or 
the nation, but all will be of no avail; they cannot detain 
his spirit; yield he must to the arrest of death, and become 
an inhabitant of the tomb. 

Was it otherwise, we might have supposed an exemption 
would have been made, for a period at least, in the case of 
the deceased President. Having passed so satisfactorily, and 
with such distinguished ability through the very peculiar 
and trying duties of his first Presidential term, and entered 
with so much promise on his second — regarded on every 
hand with such sincere respect for his simple, unpretending, 
virtuous habits; his mild, linn, and generous spirit; his ardent 
and unquestioned patriotism; his honesty of purpose and 
effort to promote the good of the whole nation; and presiding, 
as he did, at a period when his services seemed so specially 
required, we might have thought he would have been spared. 
But it was not so. Despite of all, he must yield to death, 
and leave to others the arduous task of directing the affairs 
of State. It is as if death sought to make the highest de- 
monstration of his sovereignty, and for this purpose selected 
as a mark the man who stood the foremost and the most con- 
spicuous in the nation. 

" He marks his way 
With dreadful waste of what deserves to shine ! 
Art, genius, fortune, elevated power! 
With various lustre, these light up the world, 
Which death puts out and darkens human race." 

3. God would teach us by this event the vanity of human 

(/renin ess. There was unquestionably, in the situation of the 
late President, much to be coveted by aspirants for worldly 



DISCOURSE. 



happiness and honor. Nature had endowed him with a kind 
and generous heart, with a firm and well-balanced mind, and 
with a discriminating judgment. Providence had kindly 
preserved him in a virtuous course, blessed him with more 
than a competence of earthly good, and given him many 
years of domestic comfort. The duties which his fellow- 
citizens had called him to discharge, though difficult and 
attended with great personal labor, were performed with 
remarkable prudence, firmness, and wisdom, and so as to 
merit the public praise. 

Having been inducted a second time to that high office, he 
announced, in pacific and impressive words, his purpose to 
pursue that course which Providence might direct and the 
interest of the whole nation demand. And now, however 
some may have differed in opinion from him, all candid men 
will admit that he was honestly and constantly working to 
fulfill that pledge, and preserve unimpaired the honor of the 
nation. There was unquestionably a growing respect for 
him, and confidence in his administration. But while the 
tide of his popularity was increasing; while millions of 
thoughtful patriotic minds were directed with hope to him; 
while there was not anything that his strongest political op- 
ponents could find in his public conduct to tarnish fame; and 
while he was anxiously laboring for his country's good, the 
scene dropped; his associations were sundered; his plans 
frustrated; his expectations vanished, and his eyes closed in 
death. 

What a melancholy proof of the vanity of human great- 
ness! Viewed in the light of this event, what is there in the 
adulations of the multitude, in the voice of fame, in the hon- 
ors of office, in the fascinations of wealth, in the pomp of 
power, or in the government of a kingdom, to satisfy an 
immortal mind ? to meet the wants of the soul ? to prepare 
the spirit for the glory of heaven? They are all "of the 
earth, earthy." They are uncertain iu their continuance, and 



8 DISCOURSE. 



momentary in their duration. In them there is not anything 
spiritual or Christlike. They differ in origin and essence 
from the soul, and must ever fail to give satisfactory pleas- 
ure. An inspired preacher, who shared them all, said : 
" Vanity of vanities! vanity of vanities! all is vanity and 
vexation of spirit!" 

" The glories of our mortal state 

Are shadows, not substantial things; 
There is no armor against fate ; 
Death lays his icy hand on kings — 
Sceptre and crown 
Must tumble down, 
And in the dust be equal made, 
With the poor crooked scythe and spade. 

" Some men with sword may reap the field, 
And plant fresh laurels where they kill ; 
But their strong nerves at last must yield — 
They tame but one another still. 
Early or late, 
They stoop to fate, 
And must give up their conquering breath, 
When they, pale captives, creep to death. 

" The garlands wither on your brow; 

Then boast no more of mighty deeds; 
Upon death's purple altar now, 
See where the victor-victim bleeds. 
All heads must come 
To the cold tomb; 
Only the actions of the just 
Smell sweet and blossom in the dust." 

4. God would lead us by this event to a more direct and 
'practical recognition of him in our individual and national 
affairs. The human mind, bound by the chains of sin, and 
engrossed by the things of time, is slow to think of God, or 
regard his dispensations. Rather, there is a constant incli- 
nation to forget Him, and to look to secondary causes as the 
origin of both our sorrows and our joys. " God is not in 
all their thoughts," is the solemn charge brought against our 
race. And, though in Christian countries there is a general 
belief avowed in the supremacy of Jehovah, yet how slight 



DISCOURSE. 9 



is its hold on the public mind ! How little, at best, is it 
regarded ! The people, for the greater part, scarcely give 
it a thought; and statesmen legislate, as we often see, in the 
bold disregard of this fact. 

Such a course, depend upon it, is offensive and dangerous. 
It has often led to national calamities. And who can truly 
say that it has nothing to do with our present affliction ? 
Who can, with correctness, affirm that in this event we are 
not receiving a divine rebuke ? Why, if it is not so, has He 
thus painfully broken in upon the rising tide of our national 
affairs ? Why has He, at this critical moment, stopped the 
wheels of our national government ? Why has He clothed 
the Presidential mansion in mourning ? Why has He put the 
mementos of death on the arms of judges and statesmen ? 
And why has He brought such sadness on the nation ? Why, 
but to remind us that He observes our conduct and holds us 
accountable to his authority. Such, we believe, is His gra- 
cious purpose in this dispensation, and most heartily do we 
pray that it may be universally regarded. 

5. I pass other lessons this event teaches to remark that 
God would show us by it the dreadful tendency of party spirit, 
and the deep depravity of the human heart. The existence 
of parties in a free government is inevitable from the prev- 
alence of free discussion; and their influence, when properly 
exerted, will contribute to the general good. 

But when they exist for mere party interests; when they 
lead to a disregard of real worth, to angry invectives, to 
unjust suspicions, to inroads on private friendship and public 
order, and to the resistance of righteous authority, they be- 
come alarming evils, and threaten the existence of whatever 
is dear, valuable, and just. The late President wisely re- 
garded this, and hence he nobly resolved to be, not the chief 
of a party, but the magistrate of the nation. 

But now we see the baseness and culminating power of 



10 DISCOURSE. 



this party spirit. Now, it has been displayed with the black- 
est moral turpitude and the highest crime. Now, its ripest 
and most obnoxious fruit is before the nation. Never before 
has such a horrible development disgraced our history. It 
is the culmination of wickedness, party violence, and enmity. 
After four years of rebellion against our just laws and be- 
nign government, in which were concentrated the deepest 
malignity and hate; after repeated acts of robbery and piracy 
on our Northern borders; after widespread piratical efforts 
against our commerce on the high seas; after persistent and 
earnest efforts to plunge us in war with foreign nations; after 
basely attempting to burn at night New York and other 
Northern cities; after destroying by slow and horrible tor- 
tures, in Southern dungeons, thousands of our brave soldiers; 
now this hellish spirit has branded our beloved President a 
tyrant, and has planned and accomplished his death. Thus 
has that noble man been sacrificed ; thus has "the breath of 
our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord," been destroyed ; 
thus has the nation been deprived of services which no hu- 
man power could estimate. Well has it been said, that " the 
hand that fired the shot would, had it the power, sink Ame- 
rica and her free institutions, schools, churches, commerce, 
wealth, benevolent societies in the deep ocean of annihila- 
tion." What malignity ! what deep and detestable wicked- 
ness ! 

You will expect me to refer more particularly to President 
Lincoln, though I can now give but a brief outline of his life 
and character. He was born in Kentucky on the 12th of 
February, 1809. His father, not satisfied with a residence 
in a slave State, determined, when Abraham was in his eighth 
year, to find a home in the wilds of Indiana, where free labor 
would not have to compete with that of slaves; and where 
the poor white man might raise up his family to respectability 
and competence. 

There — and I ask young men to notice it — without any 



DISCOURSE. 11 



educational advantages and very few books, lie spent several 
years of his early life. Notwithstanding, by his mother's 
aid and his own diligence, he learned to read and write; 
until, at length, he had an opportunity of attending a com- 
mon school which one of the settlers opened in his own log- 
cabin. 

In the year 1830, his father removed to Decatur, Illinois. 
Abraham, then twenty-one years of age, aided his father in 
breaking up the ground and making a rail fence around the 
farm. After his first winter there, he was engaged some- 
times as a farm hand, and sometimes as a clerk in a store. 

In 1832, he became the captain of a volunteer company 
who took part in the Black Hawk war. His conduct in that 
position was prompt, faithful, kind to his men, nobly patri- 
otic, and courageous. At the close of his military career 
he became a candidate for the State Legislature, but was 
defeated ; though he had in his own precinct 277 out of 284 
votes. Then he turned his attention to surveying, in which 
he achieved success. In 1834, he entered the Legislature of 
Illinois; soon after he commenced the study of law. and in 
1837 he removed to Springfield and entered on the practice 
of his profession. 

After sitting in the Legislature through three terms, he 
remained for several years in private life devoting himself to 
the practice of law, and the study of politics in connection 
with the interests of his country. Then he was called to 
occupy a more prominent and responsible position; and in 
1847 he took his seat in the Congress of the United States; 
and there, as elsewhere, he was virtuous, industrious, firm, 
and courteous in the maintenance of his principles, and won 
a high reputation. In 1860 it was but too evident that a 
crisis was hastening in our land. And many felt that it was 
desirable to have a chief magistrate who, while opposed to 
the extension of slaver//, should pursue a wise, conserv- 
ative, and constitutional course. And, to the surprise of 



12 DISCOURSE. 



almost the whole nation, but as it has since proved, by the 
guidance of God, Mr. Lincoln was chosen by them as their 
candidate. You know the result, and the course which, as 
President, he took. Suffice it to say, that in circumstances 
of unexampled trial and conflict he so justly commended 
himself to the loyal people of this nation as to merit and 
receive a place by the immortal Washington. 

Last Friday night the distinguished services and career of 
this honored and beloved man closed — closed not by a natu- 
ral death, but by a mean assassin's hand. 

War Department, 
Washington, April 15—1:30 a. m. 
To Major General Dix: 

This evening, at about 9| P. M., at Ford's Theatre, the 
President, while sitting in his private box, with Mrs. Lin- 
coln, Mrs. Senator Harris, and Major Rathbone, was shot by 
an assassin, who suddenly entered the box and approached 
behind the President. 

The assassin then leaped upon the stage, brandishing a 
large dagger, and made his escape from the rear of the the- 
atre. The pistol ball entered the back of the President's 
head and penetrated nearly through the head. The wound 
is mortal. The President has been insensible ever since it 
has been inflicted, and is now dying. 

About the same hour an assassin, whether the same one or 
not, entered Mr. Seward's apartments, and under pretence 
of having a preparation, was shown to the sick chamber. 

The assassin immediately rushed to the bed and inflicted 
two or three stabs in the throat and two in the face. It is 
hoped the wounds will not prove mortal. My apprehension 
is they will prove fatal. 

The nurse alarmed Mr. Frederick Seward, who was in an 
adjoining room, and hastened to the door of his father's room 
when he met the assassin, who inflicted upon him one or 
more dangerous wounds. The recovery of Frederick Sew- 
ard is doubtful. 

It is not probable that the President will live through the 
night. 

Gen. Grant and wife w r ere advertised to be at the theatre 



DISCOURSE. 13 



this evening, but he started to Burlington at 6 o'clock this 
even in er. 

At a Cabinet meeting, at which Gen. Grant was present, 
the subject of the state of the country and the prospect of a 
speedy pence waa discussed. 

The President was very cheerful and hopeful, and spoke 
veiy kindly of Gen. Lee and others of the Confederacy, and 
of the establishment of government in Virginia. 

All the members of the Cabinet except Mr. Seward are 
now in attendance upon the President. I have seen Mr. 
Seward, and he and Frederick were both unconscious. 

Later. — -Abraham Lincoln died this morning at 22 min- 
utes after 7 o'clock. 

E. M. STANTON, Sec'y of War. 

The characteristics of President Lincoln demand a brief 
notice. He was a true and eminent representative of the 
American citizen- — specially of the Western class. Accus- 
tomed from his early days to the toils, and, to some degree, 
the hardships of life on our Western frontier, he was inde- 
pendent, self-reliant, ready to adapt himself to circumstances, 
easy and affable in his intercourse with others, and always 
willing that they should exercise the right — -which he never 
surrendered— to think for themselves. Wherever he went, 
he mingled freely with the people. Was not in the least 
pretentious, manifested no official air, nor claimed any par- 
ticular attention. 

This disposition probably led him on that fatal night to 
the theatre. It was well known that he had no taste for 
such amusements, and it is said that when he attended them 
he expressed little interest. But on the night in question 
he remained in conversation with a gentleman for half an 
hour after the time appointed for departure, and then went 
with reluctance. But, as it had been advertised that General 
Grant and himself would attend, and as the former left Wash- 
ington that day for New Jerse}', he did not like to have the 
people wholly disappointed. 

As a true American, our late President had great confi- 



14 DISCOURSE. 



dence in the " government of the people, by the people, and 
for the people." This was with him a cherished and ruling 
principle. He frequently expressed it with emphasis and 
power. In his journey from Springfield to Washington in 
1861, it was reiterated in different and decided forms. At 
Indianapolis, he said: " Of the people, when they rise in 
mass in behalf of the Union and the liberties of their coun- 
try, truly may it be said : * The gates of hell cannot prevail 
against tliem.' * * * I, as already intimated, am but an acci- 
dental instrument, temporary, and to serve but for a limited 
time, and I appeal to you again to constantly bear in mind, 
that with you, and not with politicians, not with presidents, 
not with office-seekers, but with you is the question, Shall 
the Union, and shall the liberties of this country be preserved 
to the latest generations ?" Elsewhere he said : " It is for 
you, the people, to advance the great cause of the Union and 
the Constitution. I am sure I bring a heart true to the work. 
For the ability to perform it, I must trust in that Supreme 
Being who has never forsaken this favored land, through the 
instrumentality of this great and intelligent people." 

This principle was indeed loudly professed before ; but 
with President Lincoln it was fundamental and practical, and 
it has been well said: "The importance to the country of 
having a man in the Presidential chair during the Rebellion 
who was thoroughly and practically in earnest in holding 
these doctrines, is hardly to be over-estimated, for the events 
of this period required such an appeal to be made by the 
Government to the people as was never before demanded ; 
and the course of the Government on some of the most 
important questions of policy has displayed an absolute con- 
fidence in the satisfactory answer that the people would make 
to their appeal. The nation was worthy of this confidence ; 
and the past four years have done more than any similar 
period in our history to develop its trust in itself, and to 
convert not merely our politicians, but the whole people, 



DISCOURSE. 15 



from theoretical democratic Republicans into practical believ- 
ers in the rights of man, and in the power and virtue of an 
intelligent democracy-'' And for this we arc, to a great 
extent, indebted to our late honored President. 

In harmony with this peculiarly American characteristic, 
the late President always manifested a conciliatory disposi- 
tion even towards the enemies of the Government. I cannot, 
after reviewing the utterances he has given to the public 
during the period of his administration, find one expression 
that was adapted to irritate, or needlessly try, the feelings 
of any individual or class however opposed in sentiment or 
conduct to himself. In the maintenance of his opinions, he 
spoke with a moderation and courtesy which demand our 
admiration, and arc worthy of our imitation. 

Notwithstanding all the abuse which was heaped upon 
him, and all the vile epithets which were applied to him, he 
uttered no expression of retort; he made no complaint, nor 
asked for public sympathy; but bore it all with the patience 
and generosity which belong to a truth-loving and magnani- 
mous spirit. He neither said nor did anything that was de- 
signed to arouse an angry feeling; but he always sought to 
pour oil on the troubled waters, and to bring peace out of 
strife. With his devotion to duty, to the country, and to 
God, he united a regard to man as man, which led him to 
seek the good of those who despiteful ly used him. It is 
known that he cordially approved the generous terms of 
surrender which were made to, and so readily accepted by 
General Lee ; and it is said, on what I have no doubt is good 
authority, that at the time he was so basely slain by a rebel 
hand, he was meditating the proclamation of an amnesty for 
those who opposed his rule. I cannot forbear the conviction 
that the Confederate actors in this malignant plot have killed 
the best friend of the citizens in the Southern States. 

The mental characteristics of President Lincoln have been 



16 DISCOURSE. 



so strikingly displayed that no one can consistently question 
their greatness. Without the power of Henry Clay; the 
comprehensive cultivation and mental strength of Daniel 
Webster, and the masterly skill and eloquence of Edward 
Everett, he yet had traits peculiarly his own, and which 
justly made him a peer among peers, and eminently fitted 
him to be the President of this great nation during this par- 
ticular and trying crisis. Though he was slow in reaching 
conclusions, yet his mind grasped all the details of a ques- 
tion, laid hold of its very gist, and then presented the point 
with such clearness and demonstrative power, that even the 
unlettered readily perceived, and felt, the correctness of his 
conclusions. Some of his letters and State papers are re- 
markable for their terseness, conciseness, and sagacity; and 
will, I believe, excite the admiration of generations to come. 

As a statesman, our late President occujjied an eminent 
position. While he was not of those who impose by their 
brilliancy, or create surprise by their dash, he possessed and 
cultivated the virtues and qualifications which secure endur- 
ing usefulness and honor. To integrity of purpose, firmness 
of will, patience in investigation, unswerving fidelity to trust, 
and a deep impression of his accountability to the nation 
and to God, he added a thorough knowledge of the theory 
and principles of our government, and of men. He knew 
how to influence them for good, and in most trying emergen- 
cies he displayed administrative abilities of the highest order. 
From the beginning to the end, he never swerved from duty, 
or discharged it in a slovenly or inefficient manner. In ac- 
cordance with his oath, he maintained the Constitution and 
the integrity of the Federal Republic ; and to him, under 
God, more than to any other, is due the success which has 
croAvned our efforts to maintain the Union and the institutions 
of our country. 

A writer, who has been a persistent opponent of the ad- 
ministration, says: "As to the dead President, let us do 



DISCOURSE. 17 



justice to his memory ! He dies in the hour of his country's 
restored greatness, in the full fruition of his own personal 
triumph ! History might have disputed the character of his 
acts, and if he had lived he might have forfeited some of his 
fame. The assassin's blow Avill rank him, in the memory of 
millions, among the martyrs of Liberty." 

Finally : There is good reason to believe that our departed 
chief magistrate yielded his heart to the claims of religion and 
Jesus. His cherished sense of obligation to God ; his oft- 
expressed consciousness of dependence on God ; his devout 
acknoAvledgment of divine help : his repeated request for 
the prayers of the people ; his well-known love of the Bible 
and study of its truths, encourage the hope that he was no 
stranger to the holy impulses of true piety. 

In the brief and touching address he delivered to his 
neighbors on leaving Springfield for Washington in February, 
18(51, he uttered these devout emotions : 

" My friends, no one not in my position can appreciate the 
sadness I feel at this parting. To this people I owe all that 
I am. Here I have lived more than a quarter of a century ; 
here my children were born ; and here one of them lies 
buried. I know not how soon I shall see you again. A 
duty devolves upon me which is, perhaps, greater than that 
which has devolved upon any other man since the days of 
Washington. He never would have succeeded except for 
the aid of Divine Providence, upon which at all times he- 
relied. I feel that I cannot succeed without the same Divine 
aid which sustained him, and on the same Almighty Being I 
place my reliance for support, and I hope you, my friends, 
will all pray that I may receive that Divine assistance with- 
out which I cannot succeed, but w r ith which success is cer- 
tain. Again, I bid you all an affectionate farewell." 

A short time since some of those neighbors and fellow- 
townsmen called on him in Washington, and when about to 
leave him they inquired if there was anything they could do 



18 DISCOURSE. 



for him. His quick response was : u Yes ; pray for me ." An 
incident, simple as it is, indicates what were the strong desires 
of his soul. 

But we have reason to entertain this belief from the ever- 
memorable words which, on his late inauguration, he ad- 
dressed to the nation. They were of deep and solemn weight, 
resembling those of the old Hebrew prophets. They evi- 
dently expressed the deep sentiments of his soul, and their 
high moral tone indicated a spirit which had communed with 
God, and drawn its inspiration from the fount of divine truth. 
An English writer savs : "These words reflect the highest 
credit on the head and heart of Abraham Lincoln. They 
will be often quoted, and take a permanent place in the his- 
tory of these extraordinary times." Mark the following 
extract : 

" ' Woe unto the world because of oflences, for it must needs 
be that oflences come ; but woe to that man by whom the 
offence cometh.' If we shall suppose that American slavery 
is one of these oflences, which, in the Providence of God, 
must needs come, but which having continued through*His 
appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives 
to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to 
those by whom the offence came, shall we discern therein 
any departure from those divine attributes which the believ- 
ers in a living God always ascribe to Him ? Fondly do we 
hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war 
may soon pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue 
until all the wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred and 
fifty years of unrequited toil shall lie sunk, and until every 
drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid with another 
drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, 
so, still it must be said: • The judgments of the Lord are 
true and righteous altogether.' 

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firm- 
ness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us 



DISCOURSE. 



19 



strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's 
wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and 
for his widow and orphans, to do all which may achieve and 
cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with 
all nations." 

Now, in conclusion, let us listen, I pnvy you, to the voice 
which calls us, by this event, to pursue ivith zeal our eternal 
interests. In its light avc see that much as our country claims 
our thoughts; dear as its institutions may be to our hearts, 
and anxious as we should be for the just administration of 
its laws, still these things should not supremely engage our 
minds or efforts. We have higher interests than these — in- 
terests not committed to the keeping of a human hand ; not 
measured by time, nor subject to decay. Those interests 
are pure as the mansions of light ; boundless as the ages of 
eternity; firm as the throne of God, and in the care of the 
King of kings. They claim our first and constant attention; 
and not to give them this is ingratitude to God and injury to 
ourselves. 

You know me too well to suppose I am indifferent to civil 
liberty and prosperity. But what are these to freedom from 
the power of sin? from the sting of death? from the con- 
demnation to eternal woe ? What are these to the approba- 
tion of the Lord ? to the glorious liberty of the sons of 
God ? to a well-grounded hope of everlasting bliss ? What 
are these to a glorious appearing at the bar of God ? to an 
inheritance which is incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth 
not away ? to an eternal residence with God and the Lamb ? 

Surrounded by the things of time, men invest them with 
undue importance, and pursue them as the chief good. But 
this afflictive dispensation reminds us that the things which 
are unseen and eternal are of greater magnitude, and demand 
more earnest zeal. And not thus to pursue them is to de- 
feat the end of our existence, to neglect the soul's salvation, 
and bring on ourselves the abiding wrath of God. 






20 DISCOURSE. 



Neglect, I pray you, anything, rather than this everlasting 
o-ood. Be indifferent to anything but " a far more exceeding 
and eternal weight of glory." Let the realization of this 
absorb your minds, and be the prize towards which you con- 
stantly press. Then, when kingdoms shall be rent asunder; 
when empires shall decay; when a universal death shall seize 
all terrestrial things, you shall remain unhurt; and, amidst 
the plaudits of angels and the smiles of Jesus, shall enter a 
glorious kingdom which can never be moved, but abideth 
forever. 



